If your antibacterial soap doesn't kill that bug, it could instead make it stronger

Thorough handwashing with antibacterial soap readily kills most bacteria, but haphazard use of such biocides can actually make some bacteria stronger.

The chemicals we use to kill bacteria can actually lead to making the bugs stronger, researchers say. In a paper published in the journal Microbiology, scientists at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Detroit report that low levels of biocides can make the already potentially lethal bacterium Staphylococcus aureus even more efficient and resistant to antibiotics. concentrations of common hospital biocides, the bacterium quickly mutated and oftentimes survived

A recent Journal of Life Sciences newsletter noted that biocides - such as antibacterial soaps - are common in cleaning agents used in homes, hospitals and medical facilities. In sufficiently powerful doses, biocides will readily kill Staphylococcus aureus. If the dosage is weak, the bacterium is spurred to efficiently manufacture proteins that interfere with the antibacterial effect. Researchers discovered that when S. aureus was exposed to low